Urban terrain, short distances, low speeds and a focus on transportation: optimum prerequisites for the small classes of electrically driven scooters. Driving range and performance play a secondary role, and small batteries that can be recharged relatively quickly can be used. Attractive prices are possible on account of the basic engineering inside.

One in ten new scooters is electric
The figures confirm the trend towards electric scooters. In the first ten months of the current year, 1,730 out of a total of 17,601 newly registered scooters were electric, the equivalent of some 10%. Compared to the same period of the previous year, this represents a rise of 43.7%. Yet the success of electric scooters is largely confined to the smallest licence class for 15-year-olds and over with a maximum speed of 45 km/h.

Motorbikes: electric motorbikes hold no market relevance 
By contrast, when it comes to large scooters and “proper” motorbikes even more so, the “E” factor has barely made an impression. In the first ten months of 2021, the share of electric vehicles in motorbikes was a feeble 0.8%. This translates into exactly 268 vehicles out of a total market volume of 33,775 vehicles (only motorbikes, without scooters). In market terms, electric motorbikes are still irrelevant.

Where to put all that electricity?
The reason is simple. Today, motorbikes are used almost exclusively as lifestyle and leisure vehicles. However, electric motorbikes have not even an outside chance of satisfying the demands of these customers in terms of range, weight, economy, and value for money. Due to their design, electric motorbikes have less space on board than cars to store energy. Driving performance and, above all, the distances that can be covered are thus limited. There are scarcely any charging stations at the mountain destinations popular with motorcyclists. Electric motorbikes fare just as badly on long journeys involving average to long stretches of motorway driving. For the time being, the huge amount of space required for the heavy batteries precludes dynamic vehicle concepts, while the absence of engine sounds also plays a role for evocative hobby vehicles. The few electric motorbike models available today are priced in the high-end segment and are aimed at a small group of customers with avant-garde tastes.

New solutions called for
Upshot: In contrast to the development in the automotive sector, the mobility transformation towards electrically driven vehicles is from the bottom up in the case of motorbikes. It has now begun in earnest with the (smallest) scooters that are primarily used as commercial vehicles for short trips in inner-city traffic. However, for the transformation to gain a foothold in the motorbike industry, the worlds of science and industry are called on to deliver new, trailblazing solutions in energy storage and charging technology that can be afforded by consumers.

At the motofestival from 3 to 6 March 2022 on the grounds of BERNEXPO AG, a full range of the various electric scooters on the market will be on show, along with the first electric precursors in the motorbike sector.

Statistics: Schweizerische Fachstelle Motorrad und Roller (SFMR)